WPM

* When the clocks chimed midnight on December 31, 2001, UK eyes looked towards the rest of Europe. Something momentous was happening to most of our EU counterparts. New year unity was burning holes in the pockets of 304m citizens across the 12 countries. Hello euro! Goodbye schilling, markka, mark, drachma, lira, punt, guilder, escudo, peseta and the three francs.

Fears about a counterfeiters' goldrush proved unfounded. And Eurosceptics had to eat their words as the full launch of the notes and coins failed to spark the chaos in the money markets that they had predicted. Wim Duisenberg, presdient of the European Central Bank, hailed it as a "tremendous success". Former prime minister John Major conceded that the successful launch and the euro's strong performance "tipped the balance" towards Britain joining the euro. But not until 2009 at the earliest, he said.

The success story prompted rumblings in Westminster that the Blair government may risk a referendum on joining the single currency within the next two years. But the majority of UK managers (59%) want the referendum this year, says the Institute of Management, while 64% think that 2002 should be the year that the government sets a clear timetable for UK entry. Furthermore, 59% predicted that the introduction of euro notes and coins will increase support for single currency membership.

Despite the rule of sterling, major UK retailers also accept the new currency. Last week Britain's most popular tabloid fumed about the great "euro rip-off". The red top was flabbergasted that if paid for in euros the newspaper was four times its 30p cover price. The disparity is a result of exchange-rate confusion, say the retailers.

*So, for once, WPM can stomach that new year platitude "out with the old and in with the new" without the plunk/fizz of Alka Seltzer. Early January is when we take stock and re-evaluate life, plan a bigger, better, brighter future in an exasperat ing horoscope-type way. The reason for this is that January is a damp squib that starts with over-emotional and repetitively disappointing new year celebrations. Publishers know this and prey on our post-excess insecurities with a flurry of self-help books.

A number of tomes spelt discord among the creative disorder of WPM's desk recently. Two published this month are the Kiss Guide to Organizing Your Life, by Dr Donald Wetmore, and Kickstart Your Career, by Jeff Grout and Sarah Perrin. WPM was slightly confused to find that the first book had nothing to do with Kiss FM or organising successful house parties. And the blurb was a frank reminder that the chaos theory is all-consuming. "There has probably never been a better time to start taking control of your life. Wetmore, presents a set of tools accessible to everyone ..." Indeed, the good doctor offers a 20-step action plan, which to be honest would take WPM a lifetime to set up.

Demotivated, disheartened and exhausted, WPM moves on to the second offering. The introduction was enough to cause cold sweat to collect at the nape of the neck. "How many of us really feel a tremor of excitement at the thought of the day ahead? Not enough," say Grout and Perrin. Dismissive? Yes. But it is January after all.

*Strangely books such as these that give career advice may be a wise investment. Workers are not just leaving their jobs because of an economic downturn. Sixty-four per cent of human resources and finance managers in Europe believe that poor pay is the main reason that employees leave their jobs, says new research by finance recruiters Accountemps.

"Most people give inadequate salary as the main reason to leave a company," says a company spokesman, "but this does not necessarily mean it is the main reason." Just so - 42% blamed limited promotion opportunities for staff exodus, 38% cited attractive offers from other companies, 22% poor human resources and 13% boredom.

*One of last year's most popular websites was www.friendsreunited.co.uk, with 400,000 hits a month. The site, which helps school chums reunite via email, was back in the news last week. Its creators, Julie and Steve Pankhurst, are set to launch a new link on the site so that long-lost workmates can track each other down. Maybe bosses will follow the lead of teachers and threaten the couple with libel actions if former staff post derogatory comments.